Last week it was revealed that Fiji Airways would be getting two A350s later this year.
Continue reading: Fiji Airways Reveals A350 Routes
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
i can't wrap my head around as to why they would make the plane sit on the ground at LAX for so many hours.
I recognize that their focus is O&D traffic to/from Fiji, but I can’t understand why they’ve scheduled the the flights to effectively preclude LAX-NAN-SYD routings. Although a stop is inherently less desirable than an nonstop, it could be a potential yield management boon to fill seats when O&D traffic is light.
sad they wont be using it on the Hong Kong route, to rub more salt into Hong Kong Airlines.
@ mallthus -- I might be missing something, but it seems like the routes are perfectly designed for connections?
@ Matt -- Agree it's not terribly efficient, but their focus is on connections, since a ton of passengers are connecting to Australia and New Zealand. If the flight took off shortly after arriving at LAX it would get to Fiji at night, precluding connections. If they moved the Fiji to LAX flight to the morning (which would minimize ground time), it would also prelude connections. So this is the only schedule that would allow them to not entirely be dependent on people traveling to & from Fiji.
Flew the old seats and miraculously found two seats in biz PHL-LAX-NAN through AA about 10 months in advance, then used UR points to "cash" book the one-way biz fares back to LAX for our honeymoon earlier this year. For the one-way biz NAN-LAX, I ended up with 8,277 EQMs, $1,380 EQDs, and 11,313 RDMs after elite (PP) bonuses this year.
Called to book a ticket, was disappointed they didn't answer the phone "Bula vinaka, beachside."
Just did a quick look in March and found 3 days with 2 business class seats available.
I admire your talent for understatement. To say that award availability "isn't very good" when there are zero days where a couple can fly together is like saying that there are a few poor people in Haiti.
A quick search for Jan 6, 2020 LAX-NAN shows one biz class seat for 55k miles on Alaska. ExpertFlyer shows only 1 U class avail on that date.
Other forums suggest Alaska can only "see" 3 or more U seats for FJ biz awards (while AA can see complete inventory), but I was able to book 2x U seats for later this month NAN-SFO once I saw 2 U seats open up a few weeks ago (this is where ExpertFlyer's value really shows).
@ Luke -- They're already a oneworld Connect member, though that doesn't change a whole lot immediately.
https://onemileatatime.com/oneworld-connect-confusing/
Well, this is quite a good way of travelling between Sydney and Los Angeles. Business fares are attractive, and if you move beyond the first couple of months there is some award availability. Still, AU$5,000 compared to the average of AU$7,500 - ish to travel between Sydney and LAX makes the fares quite attractive.
You can read my take on these new A350 routes from a Sydney view at the link below - which reminds me I should write up my hotel and flight reviews for Fiji!
https://www.2paxfly.com/2019/05/07/fiji-airways-a350-routes-announced/
Thanks, Ben - I was referring to the fact that they’re (AA) not currently on your oneworld connect sponsor chart although all the other sponsors have clearly signed on.
I traveled Fiji SFO-Auckland return in March, business class, with stopovers in Nadi. The planes had 2-2-2 seating, not angled, very generous spacing so that, at the window, one could access the aisle without disturbing the person laying (almost) flat in the aisle seat. Great feature was that the seat didn't narrow at the feet, like United or AirNZ. And the price was great, as was the food and beverage service.
@Ben not sure if you noticed. every Tuesday on March/2020, FI 811 is revert back to A330. Weird.
Why doesn't Fiji Airways fly direct to Vancouver Canada. They have a huge market share there.
I’ve flown Fiji Airways business class annually the past two years in March between San Francisco and Nadi, Fiji. Both round trips were in 2-2-2 configuration NOT angled. If seated at the window and the adjacent aisle seat is flat, the spacing between rows is SO generous that one can get to the aisle without disturbing the person on the aisle. AND the seat when flat is just as wide at the feet as it is at the shoulders. The cabin service was fantastic and the Lounge at Nadi was awesome. Lucky, I don’t agree that their business class product is sub-par. And for the money, it’s an incredible deal. Try it yourself from SFO and please report back.
Looking forward to their business class product in A350s.